Freedom’s a Gamble

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A friend who plays poker in both three-dimensional space and virtual space forwarded the following announcement to me:

Your urgent action is needed! On September 12th the Poker Players Alliance with the support of leading poker blogs and forums, PocketFives.com, Wicked Chops Poker and others are organizing a “Phone March” on Capitol Hill. From 9:00 AM Eastern Time, until 5:30 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 12th, we are asking all PPA members and anyone interested in defending poker to call this toll free number, 800-289-1136 and be patched through to one of your two U.S. Senators in Washington D.C. When you call the 800 number you will hear a recording from fellow PPA member Greg “Fossilman” Raymer and then you will be prompted to enter your five digit zip code so you can be directed, free of charge, to your Senator’s office.

Note: The 800 number will only be active between 9:00 AM EST and 5:30 PM EST on Tuesday September 12.

Key points you should make:

I am voter in your state.

I strongly oppose any legislation that would prohibit online poker, and urge the Senator to vote against such legislation.

Poker is a skill game enjoyed by 70 Million Americans.

The Senator should seek to regulate online poker much like the government regulates other forms of gaming, like lotteries.

Prohibitions don’t work. Any legislation that tries to ban online poker will only drive those players underground.

Again, I urge the Senator to oppose any attempts to prohibit me from playing the great American game of poker on the Internet.

The threat to poker is real. Please forward this information to everyone you know who cares about poker and an American’s freedom to use the Internet. We need everyone possible to make their voice heard on September 12th!

Naturally, I’mnot actually encouraging anyone to lobby. I’m just doing my civic duty by educating the public, who might want to know that this is taking place. As a political scientist, I wonder if they have contacted Andrew Card for help with the administration.



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